It took Jacob and his horse Blaze a full week to make their way east and north into the White Mountains. Another month or so and he’d be dealing with snow, and it would be even slower going. Jacob made a promise to himself to be back in Tucson before Christmas.
The last time he had been on this side of the territory, Jacob had been gifted Blaze from a grateful farmer whose daughter Jacob had helped rescue. He almost wished he had time to visit that family again, but the town of Elk Springs wasn’t anywhere near Lawrence and where he was going.
As he rode through the foothills and the forests that climbed the slope of the White Mountains, Jacob had plenty of time to consider his first task on the job. If there had ever been an outlaw that he wanted to be sure to bring in alive, it was Billy Watts. From everything Jacob had learned, he seemed to be just a naive kid who needed some guidance.
Jacob spent a week in and out of small Arizona towns, occasionally staying overnight in a real hotel, or getting a real bath. But most of his week of travel was on the road, catching quick meals as he could and alone with his thoughts.
The last night before Jacob got to Lawrence, he rode as far as he could before it got dark and made camp. With so long on the road, he was feeling a little impatient, and wished he could go to sleep that night without having to build a fire. The cold mountain night forced his hand, and Jacob finally was able to fall asleep with his heavy wool coat wrapped around him.
After a quick bite at his camp, Jacob was up and on the road again early in the morning the next day. Though he had been able to find some towns along the way that would offer him a bed, a bath, and a hot meal, traveling that distance from Tucson, a couple hundred miles to the mountains, was a big investment for him. Jacob began to wonder if he should maybe not settle in Tucson, being so far south in the territory. Maybe moving a bit north would be better for his work.
He wondered what Bonnie would feel about that.
The bounty hunter pushed the concern from his mind as he approached the edge of Lawrence. It was mid-morning, with citizens, wagons and horses filling the streets.
Jacob had had plenty of time to think about where the first place he should start his investigation. If Billy Watts had been in Lawrence but left it, it was unlikely he had left on foot. Which means one of the last places he must have gone was the livery.
Jacob and Blaze rode down the main street of Lawrence, straight toward the livery stationed near the end of the street. It seemed all but empty. Even after dismounting, no waiting assistance came to meet him.
“Hello?” he called.
“Coming!”
Jacob peered into the dark recesses of the stable toward where he heard the voice. He thought, he suspected, that the voice was—
A small, wiry woman in trousers and tall boots came striding out to meet him. She wiped her hands on the front of her dark, loose-fitting shirt, and tucked a loose curl behind one ear with one hand, while reaching to shake Jacob’s hands with the other.
“Sorry about that,” she said. “You’re the first person to come by all morning and I was getting some long-neglected chores done. Name’s Rebecca Jones. Call me Beck. And who’s this?”
She gestured to Blaze, with an admiring look in her eye, but knew better than to approach such a strong creature without letting him at least get a whiff of her.
“Blaze. And I’m Jacob Payne. Wanted to ask you some questions actually, if you’ve got a minute, Mrs. Jones.”
He watched Beck carefully as she interacted with Blaze. She seemed to be about Jacob’s own age, and in no way self-conscious about the fact that she was a woman in a primarily man’s world. In fact, if Jacob had to put a point on it, he might even guess she was proud of her role. Of course, maybe that kind of pride was what it took to get through some men’s thick skulls who might not think her up to it. But, despite the fact that Beck was barely over five-feet, maybe a full twelve inches shorter than Jacob, she appeared more than up to the task of wrangling a two-thousand-pound animal.
“Not missus. Miss Jones. But, really, call me Beck. Please.” She stroked Blaze’s neck softly. “Everyone else around here does. I know your momma probably raised you different, but I reckon if you’re careful to say it respectfully, there’s no harm in it. Now, what questions did you have for me. Do we need to get this handsome fella out of his saddle?”
“We should. Yes.”
“I’ll do that. It’s my job, after all. You talk. Follow me.”
Jacob grinned to himself as Beck led the horse away, into the stable to take care of everything he needed. With the animal taken care of, Jacob could turn his attention to finding the trail of Billy Watts.
“I’m looking for a boy, a young man, that was here recently. Maybe a couple weeks ago now. Billy Watts.”
“Billy Watts?” she murmured to herself as she went about her tasks.
“My understanding is he left here in a huff or temper after stealing some cash at the poker table.”
She laughed, a deep throaty rumble from deep in her belly. “Oh yes. I remember. Billy. He threatened me with that little pistol of his, too. Seemed to think frightening me out of my wits in the middle of the night was the best way to get a horse saddled and ready more quickly. Foolish child. I heard all about him.”
“Did he happen to say where he was going from here?”
She peered at him over her shoulder, finally giving Jacob as close of a look as she had given his horse.
“He did. Wouldn’t shut up about it as a matter of fact. Seems like any person you asked in this town would know the answer to that.”
“Really?” Jacob frowned. How could everyone else in Lawrence know the one detail that Clifford Pierce managed to miss?
“Absolutely. I don’t know if the kid thought he was … I dunno. Somehow provoking someone into challenging him, or hoping someone would come after him or just trying to look like a bigger deal than he actually is. But he said over and over that he’d be going down to Raton and that nobody better follow him.”
Jacob couldn’t help but let out a groan. Raton was one of the towns he had stopped in for a mid-day meal on his way to Lawrence. It hadn’t even occurred to him to ask about Billy Watts since he was still several days away. And now he had gone almost a week out of his way.
“Not what you were hoping to hear, is it?” Beck asked kindly.
Jacob shook his head. They stood silently together for another moment while Jacob thought about what to do next.
“Did you want me to saddle this boy up again for you?”
“No.” Jacob sighed. “He deserves a good rest, don’t you think?”
“I do.” She patted Blaze’s flank. “He’s a gorgeous creature and deserves the best.”
“Well, too bad for him he’s stuck with me.”
Beck laughed, continuing to brush down the horse. “Anything else I can do for you right now?”
“Well … any suggestion for how to spend the rest of my day? I figure I’ll give Blaze a good rest and get started back on down the hill in the morning.”
“It’s really too bad you came all the way up here. But, since you’re here I might suggest you head over to the diner. They got their annual apple pie these last few weeks, and I don’t think I’m overstating it to say that it will change your life.”
Jacob had a flash of memory, of Bonnie bringing him a slice of apple pie at the San Xavier Cafe in Tucson. “I’ll look into it. But, while I’m here I should also probably get as much information about Billy Watts as there is to be had. Do you happen to know where he was staying, or even who he was playing cards with that night?”
“I couldn’t say for sure, but there’s only one hotel here in Lawrence so far. The Larkspur Hotel off on Larkspur Street. Just head back that way—” she pointed along the main street “—and take a left up there a bit. You’ll see it. Two stories with a deep porch on the right side. The Schmidts run it and they’re pretty friendly with the law. If that Billy character stayed with them they’re as like as not to tell you what they know.”
Jacob thanked the woman and made his way back through Lawrence to the Larkspur Hotel. If he was going to give Blaze the rest he deserved, the bounty hunter would need to find a place to sleep for the night anyway.
Beck’s directions had been spot-on; the Larkspur Hotel loomed over the narrow street close to the road and demanding the attention of passersby. A young woman, maybe mid-twenties, swept the porch as he approached.
“Good morning,” she said cheerily once she realized he was coming to her establishment. “You looking for a room?”
Jacob climbed the steps to the hotel. “I am. And I’d like to talk to the owner if he’s around.”
“You’re talking to her,” she replied with a mischievous grin. “Or one of them. Come in. I’ll call my husband and we’ll get you settled, answer your questions. Whatever you need.”
Carrying her broom inside, and leaving the porch clean and welcoming for their next guest, the woman led the way into the hotel.
“I’m Mrs. Schmidt,” she said over her shoulder to him. “What brings you to Lawrence?” As she made her way behind the front desk of her hotel, she rang the call bell announcing their presence.
“I came looking for someone—I’m a bounty hunter and the marshal asked me special. But it seems I’m too late to catch the man. It’s actually why I was hoping to speak to you and your husband. I’m told the man I was looking for likely stayed here.”
The door to the back office opened at that moment, and a man at least two decades his wife’s senior entered. Mr. Schmidt’s face lit up when he saw a potential customer and immediately set to work welcoming Jacob.
“Welcome, welcome. You’d like a room? How long will you be staying with us?” His pen was poised above the ledger, waiting to record whatever Jacob said.
“Jacob Payne. Just tonight, thanks. I was just asking your wife about a previous guest you might have had. I wonder if either of you remember a Billy Watts, from probably a couple weeks ago now.”
Mrs. Schmidt rolled her eyes. “Billy? Skinny little thing? Yes, I remember him.”
“He do it again?” Mr. Schmidt asked.
“Well, let’s just say there’s a reason I’m looking for him. I’m a bounty hunter, sir.”
“I heard he got more than fifty dollars off that gentleman at the saloon that night,” Mr. Schmidt said. “And then left us here with an unpaid bill.”
Jacob shook his head. “Yeah, that about squares with what I’ve been hearing as well.”
“Well,” Mrs. Schmidt said with a sigh, “let’s get you settled in your room for the night, and then you can ask us all the questions you want. We don’t want to leave you standing around the lobby forever.”